Juuso Riikola

A strong showing in training camp earned Riikola a spot on the Penguins' Opening Night roster last year. Unfortunately, the offensively-gifted blueliner went pointless in his first 12 appearances with the big club, and needed another six games to find the back of the net. Even with Justin Schultz out for much of the year, the youngster couldn't break into the lineup with any sort of consistency last season, and ended the campaign with a total of 37 appearances. The 25-year-old Finn inked a one-year, one-way contract with the Penguins in May, so he likely won't be spending any time in the minors this season, but unless another defenseman is traded prior to training camp, breaking into the lineup won't be any easier for Riikola in 2019-20.

Riikola is a relatively unknown commodity, considering he went undrafted and has spent the past six seasons playing in his native Finland. After putting up back-to-back 20-plus point campaigns, the Penguins opted to sign the hard-hitting blueliner to a one-year, entry-level deal this offseason. It looked like the defenseman would spend the bulk of the year in the minors, but a strong training camp has Riikola on the verge of earning a spot on the 23-man roster -- although another round of cuts remains.